Assistant Alterations
by rose-sunrise
Summary: What if Tom had decided not to rehire Ellis after firing him the first time? What if he'd decided to advertise for a new assistant and Kyle Bishop had applied? This AU is set shortly after Jimmy escapes from his brother's clutches and features Kyle and Jimmy friendship, followed by Tom and Kyle meeting for the first time at the job interview. TomxKyle romance.


Author's note: Hi everyone, this is an AU that explores what might have happened if Tom decided not to rehire Ellis after firing him and instead got a new assistant, Kyle Bishop. It's only going to be short- just one more chapter. Ellis had his fingers in so many situations in season 1 that to continue beyond that I'd have to practically rewrite the entire Smash storyline. Which I'm not going to do - I have enough work to do finishing my two other WIPs without adding a third, more extensive one! So it's just a couple of moments in time in an AU I thought of while I couldn't type. This first chapter is Jimmy and Kyle friendship and the next will be Tom and Kyle meeting and the actual interview. I'd love to hear what you think :-) So without further ado - I hope you enjoy! Cheers, Rose

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><p>Assistant Alterations<p>

Jimmy tossed the papers with the job description to the table, absently watching them flutter madly across the polished wood veneer before skidding to a halt. Hmm, that was probably for the best. Another few inches and they'd have ended up in Kyle's cereal. The look on Kyle's face if he'd ended up with soggy paperwork would have been worth a laugh though. Especially considering how much Kyle seemed to care about this interview. "So what? It's just a job. Why are you so excited?" He liked seeing Kyle this way, seeing his face come to life with exhilarated animation. It had been so long and Kyle had spent so much time and energy helping Jimmy feel better he hadn't had much time left to worry about himself. Kyle deserved to be happy and Jimmy was more glad than he knew how to express that his best friend was.

"I have an interview this morning. To be Tom Levitt's assistant." Kyle was practically vibrating with excitement. Why wasn't Jimmy as excited? Had he not understood? It didn't seem to be sinking into Jimmy's brain. With his tone as buoyant as his mood, he reiterated loudly, "His assistant, Jimmy!"

Jimmy reeled off sarcastically "You know you'd only be fetching his overly complicated coffee orders and picking up his dry cleaning, right man?"

Kyle shrugged, completely undeterred by Jimmy's comment. He probably would be doing things like that most of the time. "So what? This is a fantastic opportunity." He'd regretted when he'd seen the advertisement for Tom's assistant too late to apply the first time. He'd been so busy taking care of Jimmy he hadn't noticed. Luckily for him, that assistant had failed to understand the meaning of confidentiality and been summarily fired. Kyle felt for Tom and Julia. It must be awful to have your work put out into the world when you weren't ready. But Kyle had to admit that he was glad the old assistant had screwed up so badly all the same. Not only did Kyle have a shot at this job now, but he'd also had the pleasure of hearing the new song from the Marilyn musical Tom and Julia were working on. Kyle was so excited they were working together again; he'd thought Julia was still taking a little time off to focus on personal matters. At least that's what the Broadway gossip had been until the song had been leaked.

"Uh huh. Sure it is. You're not exactly going to be helping him write his next musical." If Kyle went into this interview with expectations like that he was going to be incredibly disappointed. It was better if he heard it from Jimmy now. Then Kyle could adjust his expectations accordingly. Though from the ebullience dancing through Kyle's eyes, Jimmy doubted he'd listen.

Kyle's face radiated his excitement as his words spilled rapidly from his lips. "I'll still be able to meet people and make connections that might help us. It gives me a leg in the door, a chance to see how Broadway musicals are actually made. I can't wait to see Tom and Julia actually creating a musical together!" He might not be helping Tom write his next musical. But he'd get to watch. That was more than enough.

"You know we're just messing around with that, right?" It wasn't like they'd ever be able to produce something that mattered. He wouldn't, anyway. He wouldn't put it past Kyle's determination to manage that someday. Even if Jimmy didn't really understand Kyle's scenes. Obviously he was just missing something.

"It's going to work, Jimmy. Your music, my words, it'll be amazing. But musicals take time." He lifted the paperwork as his eyes locked with his best friend's, his effervescent enthusiasm filling his tiny studio apartment. "This is way better than bartending!" It really didn't hurt that he'd always thought Tom was absolutely gorgeous. His lips tipped up a little further. Not that he expected anything to ever happen there. But it would make working for him just a little bit sweeter.

Jimmy was starting to get a little worried now. Kyle already seemed so invested in this job; what if he didn't get it? Maybe he could remind his best friend that he didn't need this job, that he'd be okay if the interview went badly. After all, Kyle already had a job. "What's wrong with bartending?" Bartending sounded pretty good to him. Access to all of that free alcohol - he was sure he could sneak in a shot or two without anyone noticing. Sometimes customers bought drinks for the bartender, too, didn't they? At least they did on TV. Wait... Jimmy shook his head to snap himself out of the hazy fantasy of free booze on tap. He'd promised Kyle not to do drugs. So it didn't matter if the alcohol was free or not. A faint crease appeared between his eyebrows. Did it though? Did alcohol actually count as a drug? Everyone drank. Even Kyle.

"It's fine, but it's not what I want to do with my life. Jimmy, I love his work, he's incredibly talented and his work with Julia Houston is fantastic. I'd love to be able to actually listen to him compose a new musical." He sighed in contentment, envisioning being able to watch Tom at work. Tom Levitt! He could see him, seated comfortably in jeans in front of his glossy grand piano, fingertips dancing across the keys as his eyes focused intently on their every movement. It would be amazing.

Kyle still sounded way too excited over this. It was just an assistant job for some composer. If Kyle wanted that, he could stay around and watch Jimmy compose! Of course, he wouldn't pay anyone to sit and listen. If he had the money, he'd pay them to do all the chores he didn't want to. He doubted Tom was any different! "You don't even know if you'll get to hear him play."

"I'm sure he spends half his day playing. I'll hear him." He bit his lip in indecision. He wasn't sure if Jimmy was ready to hear this but he was doing so much better and Kyle thought his best friend was strong enough for this now. It was time Jimmy heard the truth. "Even if I never hear him compose a single note because I'm too busy getting his coffee, dry cleaning, taking endless phone messages and replying to his fan mail, we need the money." With the savings he'd been burning through, he estimated he could cover them for about two more weeks on his bartending wages before they were flat broke. He was practically working every night to make ends meet as it was so picking up more shifts at the bar wasn't really an option. He needed a second job. It didn't help that there were only so many hours in a day and Jimmy still needed him around to help him stay on the straight and narrow. Kyle needed time to write too, since he didn't want to spend the rest of his life tending a bar. It didn't offer much in the way of career advancement and anyway, Kyle was a writer.

"Kyle…" His voice trailed off into anxious, guilt-ridden silence. He didn't really know what to say to that. It was his fault. Kyle had been doing fine without him. Kyle shouldn't have to pay for Jimmy's mistakes. Maybe he could pick up a few shifts at the bar if this new job didn't work out. Then he'd be able to help out.

"Please don't feel guilty, Jimmy." He waited for Jimmy's eyes to drift back up to his before continuing with heartfelt softness, "I'm so proud of you for leaving your brother and trying to get clean and sober. Never forget that. Of course you need time to recover." Not that he thought Jimmy believed that. But it was true all the same.

"So what? You don't have to support me." His eyes slipped away from Kyle's again as shame crashed into him, mingling with the burning pain of his action and his tendrils of dread that someone might find out. "I don't deserve you helping me like this." Kyle deserved a glittering life, full of wonder and joy. And Jimmy, well, after what he'd done to that girl, he'd never deserve that.

"Don't I? You're my best friend and I love you. I want to help you get your life back on track and you're always welcome to stay with me." He bit his lip, his eyebrows furrowing together. He really wished things could stay like this a little longer, that he didn't have to explain how dire things were to Jimmy. "But we need more money. I've been dipping into my savings the last couple of weeks to cover us. I can't do it much longer. I need a second job."

The wave of guilt at that admission was crushing in its intensity. Jimmy had known Kyle was struggling to cover the basics for the two of them. But he hadn't known Kyle was going through his savings just to try and keep them afloat. His voice guttered out across his words. "Kyle, I'm sorry."

He wanted to wipe every ounce of guilt from his best friend's heart. "It's okay Jimmy. Best friends help each either out. I know you've been pretty out of it for a couple of years and we haven't spent much time together, but we were best friends for fifteen years before that. That matters."

"Kyle, you don't owe me anything." He owed Kyle. More than he'd ever be able to repay.

"You don't keep score with family, Jimmy. It doesn't matter who owes who. Jimmy, I want to help." He nodded his head resolutely. That was that. For as long as Jimmy let him, he'd help. "Now, we need more money to cover the basics. Ideally, I'd also like enough to get a bigger apartment since this isn't really big enough for the two of us. We can't even fit two single beds in here and I hate sleeping on the tiny, narrow two-seater couch. I'm short but I'm not that short!" A little levity wouldn't hurt and anyway, he'd like to still have a functioning back when he was thirty, thank you very much. He doubted he'd manage that if he had to keep sleeping on that couch for much longer! They needed somewhere bigger. Maybe somewhere with an open plan, so even a smallish space would feel much larger. He'd always been partial to lofts...

"Kyle, I offered to sleep there. You insisted that I take your bed."

"Yeah well, you were sick." Jimmy had looked like death warmed over when Kyle had found him. He'd been in far more need of a warm, comfortable bed than Kyle was. "Anyway, I'm shorter. It would be much worse for you."

"That's true. My little brother." He reached over the table to teasingly pat Kyle on the head as patronisingly as possible. Blood didn't matter all that much when it came to family, he'd realised. Family loved you, they didn't hurt you, they were there for you no matter what. Kyle was the only true family he had. Kyle was all he had. But he couldn't quite manage to say that without lessening it somehow. It was much easier to say out loud if he teased Kyle at the same time.

They'd had this argument many times before. Somehow Jimmy thought being taller and more likely to win in a fight, he should automatically have the role of older brother. Unfortunately for him, time disagreed. "I'm older. By three whole months. That makes you the little brother. I'm the older, wiser one."

He rolled his eyes before responding with long-standing exasperation, "Whatever dude. It's two and a half months." Which Kyle knew very well! He'd only reminded his best friend of that fact about a thousand times. "And I'm taller." He did manage to stop himself adding the childish 'so there' to the end of that sentence. That ending was one he was very familiar with. He was proud of himself that he hadn't added the usual rejoinder.

Kyle grinned. That never failed to get a response out of Jimmy when they were growing up. It was nice to have some familiarity despite everything they'd gone through since then. He hoped the old argument helped Jimmy feel more at ease too, more like everything hadn't changed and he was as safe with Kyle as he'd ever been, that to Kyle, he still the same person he'd always been. "Uh huh. Well, we do need more space. My parents joked that you couldn't swing a cat in here when they came to visit." His face crinkled in disgust as he started rambling absent-mindedly. "Um, which would be terribly cruel to animals and I'd never do that. A soft toy cat with a long plushy tail, maybe. I'd be okay with swinging that and if I could get the right momentum it would go round and round and..." He shook his head sharply, trying to refocus on the point he was trying to make amongst his rambling. "Anyway, this job is a great opportunity."

"Sure it is." He let his eyebrows lift mockingly as he filled his tone with equally deliberate sarcasm. He couldn't let Kyle get away with that after going off on a tangent about stuffed animals! "So great you're talking about toy cats instead."

Kyle huffed in helpless amusement. "Shut up, Jimmy."

Jimmy snickered. "Don't blame me. You brought it up." Someone had to keep his brother honest.

Yeah there wasn't really much he could say to refute that. He'd just ignore it and move on. "It is a great job, Jimmy. It would mainly be daytime hours, so I should be able to keep taking bartending shifts a few nights a week." That would make sure he had enough income to cover both of them until Jimmy was ready to go back to work. He'd hate to have to let Jimmy go back too early, before he learnt to deal with everyday issues without resorting to drugs to ease his emotions. "It's much better money too, and it will be a regular paycheck, not getting different amounts each depending on how good or bad the tips were. I'll know how much I'll earn next fortnight, which will make things so much easier."

"Kyle, I could just get a job you know. I'm clean and sober now. Maybe you can put in a good word at the bar." Like he'd thought earlier, everyone drank. So what did it matter if he did. Though he probably shouldn't mention it to Kyle. His best friend would notice if he drank at home. At the bar he'd probably be able to get away with it...

"I want you to focus on getting better." He wasn't sure a bar was the best place for Jimmy anyway, being around all that alcohol. Despite Jimmy's assertions, Kyle doubted his best friend had the necessary coping techniques built up to resist his addiction yet. Until he did, he couldn't afford to be anywhere near the temptations of a bar. Working in one sounded like a recipe for absolute disaster. "You'll find something when you're ready, I know you will. You can help out with money after that. Until then, I've got you, okay?" At least he would if he managed to get this job. Kyle didn't want Jimmy anywhere near that bar when he was doing so well to stay clean and sober. Being around alcohol all the time, Kyle suspected Jimmy would slide backwards. Just a drink or two at first. Then a bottle. And weed. And cocaine. Kyle would do everything in his power to make sure that didn't happen. But if he couldn't find a way to bring in more money himself then Jimmy was going to have to start chipping in. And soon; Kyle had burned through most of his emergency cash trying to support both of them and they had to eat. Without any recent legitimate job experience, Kyle doubted Jimmy would get a job anywhere without a good word from someone. That really only left Kyle and the bar, so Kyle really needed to get this job. The fact that being Tom's assistant was a job he would have jumped at the chance to have even without that pressure made the prospect even better. He'd already got through the first stage, sending in his résumé and hearing back about an interview. Now he just had to get through that.

"Okay, Kyle. But I'll pay you back when I can." He couldn't bring himself to let Kyle cover him for longer than necessary. Telling his best friend he'd repay him made it easier to accept the help. It made it more like a loan than like charity.

"Sure, when you have the chance." He didn't want to refuse that. It had always been hard for Jimmy to accept help at the best of times. Even when they were children. He knew Jimmy was used to having to his useless brother claiming unfair favours in response to giving Jimmy help. Letting Jimmy think about it as something he could repay with money later was probably easier psychologically. Even if they both silently knew that Kyle didn't expect it.


End file.
